Vehicle door latch



A 6, 1943. H. w. RIGHTMYER VEHI OLE DOOR LATCH Filed Feb. 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR A640: 5 awn/SF? W ATTORNEY 9 5, 1943- H. w. RIGHTMYER 2,315,815

VEHIQLE DOOR LATCH Filed Fb. 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE-.5.

INVENTOR Mae- 4% 6/0)? L 06. ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 6, 1943 OFFICE VEHICLE DOOR LATCH Holden W. Rightmyer, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to The American Swiss Company, Toledo, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application February 15, 1941, Serial No. 379.064

3 Claims.

This invention relates to vehicle door locks particularly of the type having spaced inside and outside operated bolt retracting means. and an object is to produce a door latch having the new and improved features of construction, arrangement and operation hereinafter described.

For purposes of illustration but not of limita tion. an embodiment of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of a vehicle door latch with the inside operated remote control unit removed;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the inside operated remote control unit;

Figure 3 is a sectional view somewhat diagrammatic showing the keeper carried by the door frame and showing the latch bolt in latched position;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation of a portion of the mechanism with the cover vplates removed showing particularly the dogging slide and roll back and associated parts and showing the dog slide in dogging position; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the dogging slide moved away from dogging position.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a vehicle door latch having a case plate l provided with the usual flange or selvage plate H at one edge. In the flange plate I is an opening through which the bolt nose l2 projects. The belt nose I2 is connected by rivets l3 to a bolt p ate M. A spiral spring l has one end connected to cars It on the case plate NJ and has its opposite free end engaging the rear face of the bolt nose l2 to urge the latter to latching position. The bolt plate l4 extends through a guide l1 which is connected to the case plate ill and has its rear end projecting rearwardly of the case plate and pivoted thereto as by a. rivet I8 is a link H which is pivoted by a rivet to the upper end of an upstanding arm 2| of the remot control unit. The arm 2| is pivoted to a mounting plate 22 and is retained in position by a cover plate 23 which is suitably secured to the mounting plate 22. The hub of the arm 2| is adapted to receive the usual remote control handle (not shown) for rocking the arm 2| thereby to retract the bolt nose l2 for releasing it from its keeper. A spring 24 has one end bearing against th lower portion of the arm 2| and is adapted to engage in a notch 25 for retaining the arm in its normal position with the bolt nose l2 projected.

The arm 2| has an extension 26 which abuts against the cover plate 23, thereby limiting the clockwise or non-bolt retracting movement of the arm 2L As diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 3, the keeper K has a rockable member 21 which is normally urged outwardly by a spring 28. An end portion 29 on the part 21 extends through an opening in the bracket plate 30. It will be apparent that the bolt nose l2 does not retract when the door is slammed shut but moves into engagement with the part 21 and rocks it about its pivot to the dotted line position indicated in Figure 3 until the bolt nose has moved into engagement with the face of the end portion 29. However, in order to open the door, the bolt nose I2 is retracted in order to clear the end portion 29, as will be readily apparent.

In order to retract the latch bolt from the outside of the door, a roll back 3| is pivotally mounted on the case plate l0 and cover plate 32. the roll back being provided with the usual hub portions which engage in openings in the case plate and cover plate respectively. As best shown on Figures 4 and 5, the roll back 3| has an arm 33 which engages a shoulder portion 34 on the bolt plate I! so that by rocking the roll back 3| in a clockwise direction, the bolt plate is retracted against the force of the spiral spring l5. It will be understood that the roll back receives the usual handle shaft 35 which extends outside of the door and is provided with the usual operating handle (not shown). The roll back 3| is also provided with a downwardly extending arm 36.

In order to dog the roll back 3| a vertically movable slide 31 is adapted to be moved so that its free end portion is disposed between the downwardly extending arm 36 of the roll back 3| and the flange plate ll, thereby preventing clockwise retracting movement of the roll back 3|. The slide 31 is carried by a downwardly projecting extension 38 integral with the case plate 10,11 cover plate 39 fitting over the slide for holding it in position and assisting in guiding the movement thereof. The slide 31 has a lateral extension Ill and a toggle spring II is interposed between the extension 4|! and the case plate l0. one end of the spring being connected to the extension 40 and the opposite end to the case plate ID. This spring serves to retain the slide either in its dogging position with respect to the roll back arm 36 or in its lower or roll back releasing position as will be readily understood.

The dogging slide 31 may be operated from the inside of the door by a rod 42 which has a knob 43 at its upper end which is disposed in any convenient position on the inside of the door so as to be conveniently manipulated by a person within the vehicle. As shown, the rod 42 has a vertically disposed free end and the lower portion inclines downwardly and forwardly on the inside of the case plate Ill. The lower end of the rod 42 passes through a vertically elongated opening 44 formed in the case plate extension 38 and is suitably secured to the dogging slide 31. It will thus be apparent that by lifting on the operating knob or button 43, the dogging slide 31 may be moved upwardly into dogging position as shown by full lines on Figure 4. It will also be apparent that by pushing downwardly on the knob or button 43, the dogging slide 31 is moved downwardly to the limit afforded by the slot 44 which is sufficient to move the upper end of the dogging slide 31 a sufllcient distance away from the roll back 3! so that it may be rotated to retract the latch bolt as above explained.

The lower end of the dogging slide 31 is generally in the shape of a reversed C thereby forming a recess or cutout portion 45. Disposed within the recess 45 is a rotatably mounted cam 46 which has an actuating stem or shaft 41 which may be actuated from the outside of the door as by means of a key lock device so that by inserting the key, the shaft 41 may be turned in one direction or the other to positively move the dogging slide 31 to and from dogging position. The cam 46 is of sufficient size so that when it is turned in a counterclockwise direction, as indicated by dotted lines on Figure 5, the dogging slide 31 is moved to roll back dogging position but when the cam 46 is rocked through an arc of 180 degrees from that position or to the full line position shown in Figure 5, the dogging slide 31 is moved downwardly to roll back releasing position. When the cam is disposed in horizontal position or as indicated on Figure 4, is in its neutral position, the inside operated stem or rod 42 may be actuated for moving the dogging slide to and from dogging position. It will be manifest that by observing the position of the inside operated button or knob 43, a person can determine whether the latch is dogged or released, thereby affording convenient visible indication of the condition of the latch mechanism.

From the above description, it will be manifest that the roll back may be readily and conveniently dogged by a single dogging slide either from the inside of the door or from the outside of the door. The structure is exceedingly simple and lends itself admirably to volume production.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operation may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A vehicle door latch comprising a case plate, a tensioned latch bolt movably connected to the plate, inside operated means to retract the bolt,

outside operated means to retract the bolt including a rotatable roll back, a vertically disposed dogging slide below the roll back movably connected to the case plate for movement toward and away from the roll back for blocking rotation thereof in one position of the slide, said slide having a cutout which extends through one of the sides thereof and which is formed to provide spaced walls disposed at substantially right angles to the direction of movement of the slide, a rotatable cam having a nose and sides disposed in its entirety within the cut out, means to actuate the cam to engage said walls of the cut out to move the slide into and out of dogging position, said cam in one position being movable to a neutral position with its nose extending toward the rear of the cutout and its sides disposed between the opposed walls of the cutout, a lateral extension below the roll back, secured at one end to the o posite side of the slide, a toggle spring connected to the opposite end of the extension and to the case plate, and means accessible from the inside of the vehicle for actuating the slide into and out of dogging position independently of the cam when the cam is in said neutral position thereof to move the slide into and out of dogging position.

2. A vehicle door latch comprising a case plate, having a vertically disposed flange at its front, a tensioned latch bolt movably connected to the plate, inside operated means to retract the bolt, outside operated means to retract the bolt including a rotatable roll back, a vertically disposed spring tensloned dogging slide disposed below the roll back and movably connected to the case plate at a point rearwardly of and adjacent to said front flange of the case plate for movement toward and away from the roll back for blocking rotation thereof in one position of the slide, said slide having a cutout faced toward the flang of the case plate and formed with a pair of spaced opposed walls, a rotatable cam disposed substantially in its entirety in the cutout, means to actuate the cam to cause same to engage said walls of the cutout and thereby move the slide into and out of dogging position, said cam in one position being movable to a neutral position substantially at right angles to the face plate and between the opposed walls of the cutout, and means accessible from the inside of the vehicle for actuating the slide when the cam is in said neutral position within the cutout thereof to move the slide into and out of dogging position.

3. A vehicle door latch in accordance with claim 2, wherein the means to actuate the slide when the cam is in neutral position includes an inclined rod having an end disposed rearwardly of the roll back and in front of the toggle spring and extending through and slidable in an elongated opening provided therefor in the case plate and connected to the slide.

HOLDEN W. RIGHTMYER. 

